Coupling Connector and Geodome Frame Made Therewith

ABSTRACT

A coupling connector for a geodesic dome frame comprising a body having holes radial to the vertical axis of the body and positioned at an angle to its horizontal plane. A geodesic dome frame formed with the coupling connector comprises coupling connectors with holes, in which rod ends are positioned to form multiple interconnected triangles forming the surface of the geodesic dome.

BACKGROUND Field

The invention relates to the field of construction and may be used to design a frame of a geodesic dome (a geodome), in particular, for connecting geodome rods in spatial structures of frames of build-up and modular building structures having a spherical or dome-shaped form to serve various purposes, such as a cinema, a planetarium or a venue for mass events (exhibitions, concerts, workshops, etc.) as well as temporary and mobile structures.

Many similar designs, considered the closest prior art, based on the combination of essential features, are known to the applicant including the following.

Background

A five-beam connector for coupling rods of the geodome frame, comprising a body having the form of a truncated circular cone with five equally spaced rectangular grooves formed on the surface thereof, each of them equipped with a pair of flanges arranged in inversed manner to each other perpendicular to the plane of rectangular depressions, is known to the applicant. Each flange has a hole in its central part that is coaxial to the respective hole of a paired flange (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,278, published on 16 Apr. 1985). The geodome frame with the using of such connector is formed by placing an end of each rod in a rectangular groove between paired flanges of the said connector and by fixing the rod in that groove to form a five-beam design using the said connector on its top and similar connectors at ends of its beams. Since rods are positioned at the same angle to the horizontal plane of the connector due to the truncated conical shape of the frame, the geodome surface is being formed by attaching other rods to connectors positioned at ends of beams of that five-beam design.

The said connector helps to design a geoframe with one geosphere segmentation frequency, so its use is limited whenever a geoframe with another geosphere segmentation frequency and another geosphere diameter is required. Further, the said connector does not provide for reliable fixation of rods in grooves of the frame as it is fastened to holes of flanges, and its use further complicates designing of the geoframe due to rather sophisticated way of designing of such a five-beam structure and connecting other rods thereto.

A prior art discloses a connector used to form a geodome comprising a frame with three tubular hollow branches (See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application No. 20120180405 published on 19 Jul. 2012) or six similar branches (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,984 published on 29 Aug. 2000), positioned at the same angle between each other. Each branch is positioned at an angle to other branches and relative to the horizontal plane of a body, so that a geodesic dome may be formed using many identical connectors and many similar rods with ends positioned in respective branches of connectors.

The said design helps to simplify formation of a geoframe having, however, one geosphere segmentation frequency, and does not allow to design a geodome with various geosphere segmentation frequencies and various diameter due to a fixed angle between branches and does not help to improve reliability of fastening rod ends and, as a consequence, reliability of the geoframe, so designed due to relatively short length of a branch coming into contact with a rod end relative to its diameter, in particular, whenever relatively long rods are used.

A prior art discloses a connector for a geodome, comprising a non-metal body, having many elongated grooves for placing ends of elongated tubular elements arranged radially to the centre of the body at an angle to its horizontal plane. Further, the said connector comprises elements for fixing elongated tubular elements in grooves made in the form of dish-shaped conical surfaces, which are pressed against the body on the top and which press tubular elements to fix them in grooves. A geoframe is formed using the said connectors by positioning rod ends on tubular elements followed by fixation of their ends with screw thread inserts to form five- or six-beam designs, which, when combined together, form a geosphere (See, e.g., U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 20060291952, published on 28 Dec. 2006).

The said design of the connector enhances reliability of the geoframe, so formed, but requires external protection, in particular, with any shell, since rod ends are positioned outside of tubular elements. The geoframe, so formed also has one geosphere segmentation frequency and is quite complicated in terms of formation as free ends of rods on tubular elements of the connector are to be coupled with other rods already fixed that is quite inconvenient. Further, the said geoframe requires using rods with hollow ends only to be coupled with tubular elements, this also restricts operational flexibility of the connector.

A prior art discloses a geoframe comprising a set of fixed-length rods and a set of rods with an adjustable length, and a set of connectors of various types. All connectors comprise a body with radially arranged fingers to be coupled with ends of rods positioned at an angle to the horizontal plane of the connector body and varying by the number of fingers and by an angle they are arranged between each other (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,766,796 published on 3 Aug. 2010).

The geoframe, so formed may have a various geosphere diameter, as it uses various types of connectors and rods with an adjustable length; however, it is quite complicated in terms of manufacture, in particular, in terms of formation, since a separate connector should be produced for each type of rod connection and should be used in a strictly designated position, this also does not allow to improve operational flexibility of connectors.

A connector for connecting rods of a geodetically dome comprising a connecting element with eyelets for attaching inserts, with an end of the respective rod being fixed at the end part of each such element, is considered the closest prior art to the connector disclosed herein. The said unit is equipped with a split ring, and the connecting element is designed as a truncated cone and caps tightened by the central bolt. The split ring is positioned on the outer lateral surface of a truncated cone and is made in the form of sectors, positioned relative to each other with slots to which eyelets are attached. When the said connector is used, the sectors with eyelets are pressed by caps to the truncated cone with a central bolt. When the central bolt is not fully tightened, sectors can move in a circular direction on the surface of the truncated cone and connect the rod and an insert using a ring part. The rod is then fastened to 20 eyelets using a finger with a flattened surface. An insert freely rotates around the axis of the finger, which helps to connect rods, positioned to the unit at any angle (See, e.g., Russian Patent No. 2034964 C1 published by 10 May 1995).

The said connector allows designing a geodome of various geosphere segmentation frequencies and various geosphere diameter, since rods, that approximate the unit at any angle may be connected; however it is quite complicated in terms of manufacture and use due to presence of moveable parts—a split ring with sectors, fixing rods through eyelets using fingers with a flattened surface etc., this further affects reliability of the geodome design and requires additional servicing. Further, such design is very complicated in terms of disassembly and, as such, may not be used for temporal or mobile building structures.

The connector and the geodome formed therewith, as disclosed by U.S. Application Publication No. 20030226319, published on 11 Dec. 2003, was taken as a prototype. The prototype connector comprises a body having holes radial to the vertical axis of the body and positioned at an angle to its horizontal plane. The said holes are formed by tubular elements bent at an angle to the horizontal plane of the body. Tubular, elements positioned between the upper and lower washers and fixed by a central bolt and a nut. The angle at which tubular elements and holes, respectively, are positioned is regulated by tightening the bolt to adjust the angle at which rods are positioned in a geoframe. When the bolt is fully tightened, the connector has a rigid structure that holds rods to form the geodome frame comprising coupling connectors with holes in which ends of rods are positioned, so that many interconnected triangles are created to form the geodome surface.

Since an angle between tubular elements and their inclination angle to the horizontal plane of the connector body are changeable, a geoframe may be formed of varying geosphere segmentation frequency and varying diameters using the connector of one type and identical rods only, which also enhances operational flexibility of connectors and simplifies designing such building structure. However, the design of fixation of tubular elements is relatively unreliable due to presence of a threaded joint and due to the very design of tubular elements, which are fixed in cantilever fashion between washers and may be damaged at a site of their connection with washers in response to different loads. Further, a geoframe, so designed is relatively complicated in terms of its assembly due to the need to pre-arrange a tubular element exactly at an angle required in a certain position of the geoframe, so the formation process may be more time-consuming. Further, the disassembly of such frame also requires additional operations to separate washers and release tubular elements through a dismountable structure of the connector, this also restricts to some extent its use for certain types of mobile and temporary building structures.

SUMMARY

In the description below, the geodome frame (geosphere) segmentation frequency refers to a number of various structural elements (ribs), used to construct the frame. This number is typically denoted by letter V followed by the number between 2 and 8 (V4, V8, etc.). It is known that the more ribs are used, the higher is the strength and reliability of the geodome.

Further, in the description below, the geodome (geosphere) refers to a conventional spherical (hemispherical) surface, obtained by approximation, so the basis of such surface is not formed by a circle, but rather by a polygon, inscribed in the said circle. The area of such polygon is less than that of the circle, and number of its ribs depends on the frame segmentation frequency.

The object of the coupling connector according to the present invention is to design a frame of the geodesic dome of varying diameter and varying geosphere segmentation frequency and, at the same time, to simplify formation and disassembly of such frame, where appropriate, using the connector by making a multi-purpose design of the connector, so rod ends could be positioned at various angles depending on positioning of the connector without using moveable elements or elements to be assembled and dissembled. A further object for the coupling connector is to enhance reliability of the assembled frame and its operation as well as to reduce the weight of the connector and install elements thereon in addition to the geodome frame. Yet another object is to simplify the manufacture of the coupling connector and to maintain the above mentioned advantages.

The said object is achieved, so that in a coupling connector for a geodesic dome frame comprising a body having holes radial to the vertical axis of the body and positioned at an angle to its horizontal plane, according to the invention, the body comprises at least six radial holes positioned to each other at the angle of 60°, the axis of radial holes being at an angle within 6 to 10° to the horizontal plane of the body, radial holes having, at least partially, a conic part with a cone angle within 4 . . . 10° to the axis of holes, with hole diameter to length ratio of at least 0.5, and the body is further equipped with through holes, each of which coupled with one radial hole, at one side, and with a body surface, at the other side, so the axis of through holes is positioned in one plane with the axis of a radial hole to which a through hole is coupled.

Equipping the body of the coupling connector disclosed herein with at least six radial holes positioned at an angle of 60° to each other and positioning of their axis at an angle between 6 and 10° to the horizontal plane of the body allows designing the geodome frame of varying diameter and varying geosphere segmentation frequency, in particular, the frame having diameter between 3 and 16 meters and segmentation frequency between V4 and V8, since the angle between rods in the coupling connector, disclosed herein, is changeable. Embodiment of radial holes in a conical form (at least partially) with the cone angle within 4 . . . 10° to the axis of holes allows changing the angle at which a rod end is positioned depending on the place where the connector is positioned in the frame design. The range of the cone angle of radial holes, as defined through experiments, allows using the connector of the same design, when rods are to be positioned at various angles. The diameter to length ratio of a hole of at least 0.5 can improve reliability of positioning of rod ends in radial holes by providing an area of walls of radial holes, which comes into contact with the surface of a rod end determined through experiments. The experiments demonstrated that when the said ratio is below 0.5, incidence of rod ends coming out of engagement with radial holes increased by 30-40% compared to the said ratio and could affect the reliability of the geodome operation.

Further, the coupling connector designed with the said through holes, each coupled with a radial hole, on one side, and the surface of the body, on the other side, and positioning of the axis of said holes in one plane with the axis of a radial hole, to which a through hole is coupled, allows positioning fixators in the said through holes and improving reliability of their connection to the surface of the rod end to prevent displacement of the rod end in the axial direction and improve reliability of coupling the connector with rods.

The coupling connector may comprise radial holes made blind to simplify fixation of rods and improve reliability of such fixation, and, consequently, reliability of the geodome operation.

In the coupling connector, the axis of radial holes may be positioned at an angle of 8° to the horizontal plane, so the geodome frame could be formed to have varying diameter and varying geosphere segmentation frequency, in particular, to have the diameter ranging between 3 and 16 meters and segmentation frequency ranging between V4 and V8.

In the coupling connector, the diameter to length ratio of holes may range within 0.5 . . . 1.5 that is optimal in terms of coupling rod ends and radial holes of the connector body.

The axis of axial through holes may be positioned in the coupling connector perpendicular to the axis of the radial hole with to which the axial through hole is coupled to further improve reliability of a contact of the fixator with a rod end and, consequently, reliability of the geodome frame operation and to simplify the assembly of the frame.

The body of the coupling connector may also comprise additional axial holes to reduce the weight of the connector, and, consequently, the entire geoframe that is important in terms of reliability of the structure with quite large surface area.

The said axial holes may be positioned between radial holes and made blind to reduce the weight of the connector without their strength and rigidity being compromised.

The body of the coupling connector may also comprise a central axial hole made blind to reduce the weight of the connector and, at the same time, to allow installation of elements in the said hole in addition to the geodome frame, such as rods, to form superstructures on the frame surface etc. without rigidity and strength of the connector body being compromised.

The object of the invention of the geodesic dome was to design the geodesic dome frame of varying diameter and varying geosphere segmentation frequency using connectors of two typical sizes only to simplify the frame formation and, at the same time, to improve reliability of the frame operation.

The said object is achieved so that the geodesic dome frame comprising coupling connectors with holes, in which rod ends are positioned to form multiple triangles forming the surface of the geodesic dome, according to the invention, comprises the coupling connector having six radial holes in which rods are positioned at an angle ranging between 6 and 10° to the horizontal plane of the coupling connector with changeable angle of positioning within 4 . . . 10° to the axis of radial holes of the connector, and the coupling connector having five radial holes, in which rods are positioned at an angle ranging between 6 and 10° to the horizontal plane of the body and at an angle of 72° to each other, each coupling connector comprises fixators positioned in axial through holes so that each fixator is coupled with a rod end positioned in each radial hole of the said coupling connectors.

When the frame of the geodesic dome is formed only with the coupling connector having six radial holes with rods positioned at an angle ranging between 6 and 10° to the horizontal plane of the coupling connector and changeable angle of positioning within 4 . . . 10° to the axis of radial holes of the connector, and the coupling connector having five radial holes with rods positioned at an angle of 72° to each other, and rods having identical parameters, the formation of the frame is simplified while reliability of its operation is improved.

The ratio of the length of a part of rod ends positioned in radial holes of coupling connectors to the radial hole diameter may be at least 0.5, preferably, within the range between 0.5 and 1.5, so reliability of fixation of rod ends in holes of coupling connectors and, consequently, reliability of the frame operation could be improved.

Further, rods may be positioned in radial holes of each coupling connector at an angle of 8° to the horizontal plane of the coupling connector, so that a geodome frame of varying diameter and varying geosphere segmentation frequency could be formed, in particular, a frame with a diameter ranging between 3 and 16 meters and geosphere segmentation frequency ranging between V4 and V5.

Further, the axis of each fixator may be positioned perpendicular to the axis of the respective radial hole to which the said fixator is coupled, so reliability of fixator contact with a rod end and, consequently, reliability of the geodome frame operation could be further improved while the frame assembly could be simplified.

Each coupling connector having six radial holes may be coupled by rods with at least four coupling connectors having five radial holes to further help to form a geodome of varying diameter and varying geosphere segmentation frequency, in particular, a frame having diameter ranging between 3 and 16 meters and geosphere segmentation frequency ranging between V4 and VS.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention claimed is illustrated by the following exemplary embodiment of the coupling connector and the geodome frame formed therewith and by figures where:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the coupling connector having six radial holes and the frame having the form of a pentagonal prism,

FIG. 2 is a section A-A on FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view

on FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a top view of the coupling connector having six radial holes and the frame having the form of a round cylinder,

FIG. 5 is a section A-A on FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a section B-B on FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a top view of the coupling connector having five radial holes and the frame having the form of a round cylinder,

FIG. 8 is a section A-A on FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a top view of the coupling connector having six radial holes with rods positioned therein upon assembly of the geodome frame,

FIG. 10 is a top view of the coupling connector having five radial holes with rods positioned therein upon assembly of the geodome frame,

FIG. 11 is a general view of the geodome frame, so assembled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The particular embodiment of the coupling connector and the geodome frame, disclosed herein, is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the claims appended hereto, but to explain the essence of the invention.

The coupling connector 1 for the geodesic dome frame comprises the body 2 equipped with at least six holes 3 radial to the vertical axis 0-0 of the body 2 and positioned at an angle a ranging between 6 and 10° to its horizontal plane, preferably, at the angle of 8°, and at the angle of 60° to each other. The body 2 preferably has the form of a hexagonal prism (FIGS. 1-3) or of a round cylinder (FIGS. 4-6) or may have any other acceptable form.

Radial holes 3 have, at least partially, a conic part 4 with a cone angle within 4 . . . 10° to the axis of holes. Radial holes 3 are made blind. The ratio of diameter D of holes 3 to their length is at least 0.5, preferably, within 0.5 . . . 1.5.

The body 2 is further equipped with through holes 5, each coupled to one radial hole 3, on the one side, and surface of the body 2, on the other. The axis of through holes 5 is positioned in one plane to the axis of the radial hole 3, to which the through hole 5 is coupled. The body 2 further comprises axial holes 6 positioned between radial holes 3 and the central axial hole 7. The said holes 6 and 7 are made blind.

The geodesic dome frame made with the connector 1, as disclosed above, comprises, respectively, such coupling connector 1 having six radial holes and the coupling connector 8 having five radial holes (FIG. 3).

The coupling connector 8 comprises the body 9 equipped with five blind holes 10 radial to the vertical axis 0 ₁-0 ₁ of the body 9 and positioned at the angle a ranging between 6 and 10° to its horizontal area, preferably, at the angle of 8°, and at the angle of 72° to each other. Unlike the coupling connector 1, holes 10 are cylindrical, i.e. having no conic part. The body 9 may also be a round cylinder (FIGS. 7, 8) or may have any other acceptable form similar to the coupling connector 1. Ratio of diameter D₁ of radial holes 10 to their length L₁ is also at least 0.5, preferably, within 0.5 . . . 1.5. The body 9 is further equipped with through holes 11, each coupled to one radial hole 10, on the one side, and surface of the body 9, on the other. The axis of through holes 11 is positioned in one plane to the axis of the radial hole 10, to which the through hole 11 is coupled, preferably, positioned perpendicular to the radial hole 10, to which the through hole 11 is coupled. The body 9 may further comprise additional axial holes, in particular, central axial hole 12.

Rods 11 in both coupling connectors 1 and 8 are positioned at an angle within 6 to 10° to the horizontal plane of each coupling connector, preferably, at an angle of 8° to correspond to the angle a of positioning of the axis of radial holes 3 and 10. Rods 11 in coupling connectors 1 are positioned at the angle of 60° to each other and the angle is changeable within 4 . . . 10° to the axis 0-0 of radial holes 3 of the connector depending on the angle of the conic part 4 of radial holes 3. In the coupling connector 8, rods 11 are also positioned at an angle within 6 to 10° to the horizontal plane of the body of the connector 8 and at the angle of 72° to each other. Therefore, each coupling connector 1 is coupled with at least four coupling connectors 8 with rods 11.

Each coupling connector 1 and 8 comprises fixators 13 positioned in through holes 5 and 11, respectively. Each fixator 10 is coupled with an end of the rod 11 positioned in radial holes 3 and 10 of the said coupling connectors 1 and 8. The axis of each fixator 13 may be positioned perpendicular to axis 0-0 of the respective radial hole 3 and 10 to which the said fixator 13 is coupled. Fixators 13 may be made as a bottom or as a screw thread insert etc.

The ratio of the length of a part of ends of rods 11 positioned in radial holes 3 and 10 of the coupling connectors 1 and 8, which is equal to the length of radial holes, and diameter D of radial holes 3 and 10 is at least 0.5, preferably, within 0.5 . . . 1.5.

Coupling connectors of both types may be made by any method known, in particular, by high-pressure extrusion using an injection-moulding machine and various types of plastics or other materials suitable for manufacture of products of such type with the required strength or by milling of metal, plastic or other material suitable for products of such type.

The frame of the geodesic dome as disclosed above is assembled using the said coupling connectors 1 and 8 as described below. First, end of rods 11 are to be positioned in radial holes 3 and 10, respectively, to form a multiple of interconnected triangles forming a surface of the geodesic dome. During the assembly, the angle of positioning of rods 11, with ends placed in radial holes 3, is changed within 4 . . . 10° to the axis 0-0 of radial holes 3 of the connector 1 to couple with the coupling connector 8. Ends of rods 11 are fixed in radial holes 3 and 10 using fixators 13 by positioning the rods in through holes 5 and 11, respectively.

Therefore, the geodome frame of varying diameter and varying geosphere segmentation frequency, in particular, the frame with a diameter ranging between 3 and 16 meters and segmentation frequency between V4 and VS may be assembled using only two types of coupling connectors with a simple design in terms of manufacture and having not moveable parts to change the angle of rod positioning so that the geodome frame formation is simplified and reliability of its operation is improved. 

1. A coupling connector for a geodesic dome frame comprising, a body having a body surface, through holes comprising a through hole axis, a vertical axis and a horizontal plane; and at least six holes radial to the vertical axis of the body; wherein, the at least six holes, comprise an axis, a diameter, and a length, are positioned at an angle to the horizontal plane, the angle is from six to ten degrees, and are positioned to each other at an angle of 60°; at least a portion of the at least six holes comprises a conic part with a cone angle within four to ten degrees to the axis; the diameter to length ratio comprises at least 0.5; the through holes coupled with one radial hole at one side; the body surface at the other side so the through holes axis is positioned in one plane with the axis of a radial hole.
 2. The coupling connector of claim 1, wherein the radial holes are made blind.
 3. The coupling connector of claim 1, wherein the axis of radial holes is positioned at the angle of 8° to the horizontal plane.
 4. The coupling connector of claim 1, wherein the diameter to length ratio of holes is from 0.5 to 1.5.
 5. The coupling connector of claim 1, wherein the axis of through holes is positioned perpendicular to the radial hole to which a through hole is coupled.
 6. The coupling connector of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises axial holes.
 7. The coupling connector of claim 6, wherein axial holes are positioned between radial holes.
 8. The coupling connector of claim 6, wherein axial holes are made blind.
 9. The coupling connector of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a central axial hole made blind.
 10. A geodesic dome frame comprising coupling connectors with holes, in which rod ends are positioned to form multiple interconnected triangles forming the surface of the geodesic dome, wherein it comprises the coupling connector having six radial holes in which rods are positioned at an angle ranging between 6 and 10° to the horizontal plane of the coupling connector with changeable angle of positioning within 4 to 10° to the axis of radial holes of the connector, and the coupling connector having five radial holes, in which rods are positioned at an angle ranging between 6 and 10° to the horizontal plane of the body and at an angle of 72° to each other, each coupling connector comprises fixators positioned in axial through holes so that each fixator is coupled with a rod end positioned in each radial hole of the said coupling connectors.
 11. The frame of claim 10, wherein the ratio of the length of a part of rod ends positioned in radial holes of coupling connectors to the radial hole diameter is at least 0.5.
 12. The frame of claim 11, wherein the ratio of the length of a part of rod ends positioned in radial holes of coupling connectors to the radial hole diameter comprises from 0.5 to 1.5.
 13. The frame of claim 10, wherein rods in radial holes of each coupling connector are positioned at an angle of 8° to the horizontal plane of the coupling connector.
 14. The frame of claim 10, wherein the axis of each fixator is positioned perpendicular to the axis of the respective radial hole to which the said fixator is coupled.
 15. The frame of claim 10, wherein each coupling connector having six radial holes is coupled by rods with at least four coupling connectors with five radial holes. 